This invention generally relates to devices for making bubbles, and more particularly, to devices for manually making bubbles of moderate to large diameter.
Soap bubbles have been made with pipes and tubes of various types, with hoops of various shapes and of various sizes, and using various materials of construction. Indeed, some relatively complex mechanical devices have been developed heretofore for the purpose of making bubbles.
It is well known and understood that bubbles can be made with simple loops of string or wire. In fact bubbles can be made with almost any completely wettable continuous loop of reasonable size and shape. In an even more basic fashion, bubbles can be made using the xe2x80x9cOxe2x80x9d which is formed by bringing one""s thumb and index finger together.
A bubble exists because of the properties of the thin film that forms the envelope for the bubble. This film tends to minimize its overall surface area, and consequently, bubbles tend to become spherical. This is a very complex phenomenon, but is fundamentally determined by the nature of the chemical constituents in the bubble solution that determine the surface tension of the bubble film, the size of the bubble, and interestingly and very significantly, the specific local weather conditions.
The surface area of a sphere is directly proportional to the square of its diameter. Thus, a 30-inch diameter bubble has about 100 times the surface area of a 3-inch diameter bubble. So, assuming approximately the same film thickness, the 30-inch diameter bubble uses about 100 times the quantity of bubble solution, per bubble. Such comparisons are even more significant when large diameter bubbles are being developed. For example, an 8 foot diameter bubble requires about 1000 times more bubble solution than the 3 inch diameter bubble.
Under ideal conditions, large bubbles can be made with a simple solution of water and soap, or detergent, but conditions are seldom ideal. Therefore, to generate large and long lasting bubbles for a variety of common outdoor conditions requires that bubble solutions include various enhancing additives. A principal component of such solutions is glycerin. Often, other xe2x80x9csecretxe2x80x9d ingredients are included in bubble solutions, including constituents such as corn syrup, gelatin, fruit pectin, or other substances. It is of interest with respect to the apparatus and method of the present invention that professional bubble exhibitors generally perform indoors, and vigorously attempt to control the ambient temperature, relative humidity, and minimize air movement and velocity, even when using complex, stability enhancing bubble solutions.
Many commercial firms market aqueous solutions for making bubbles. It is the surface tension properties of the solution that causes drops of the solution to form, because the surface tension tends to minimize surface area. The greater the surface tension, the more spherical the drop. A bubble cannot form, and/or the bubble film bursts before a complete bubble can be formed, should the surface tension overcome the tensile strength of the bubble film. Therefore, it can be appreciated that a bubble forms from a liquid of low surface tension properties. The surface tension of the liquid within the bubble film inherently tends to minimize the bubble""s surface area, so bubbles tend to be spherical. However, large bubbles cannot be made using the tiny hoops provided with the commercially available bubble-making solutions that are presently known to me, because as the bubble film tends to minimize its surface area, the bubbles made using the small loops naturally xe2x80x9cclose offxe2x80x9d the elongated solution film into bubbles no larger than, but usually much smaller than, about 3xc2xd times the diameter of the loop used to make the bubble. With such devices, no conscious effort is required by the user to xe2x80x9cclose offxe2x80x9d the bubbles. Unfortunately, this same property of the bubble film solution also precludes the making of large bubbles with relatively small hoops.
The size and persistence of a bubble is very dependent on the size of a loop used to make the bubble, the nature of the loop, the chemical composition of the bubble solution, the amount and velocity of the air that extends the solution film, and the prevailing environmental conditions. Generally, when (i) the loop, (ii) the composition of the bubble solution, and (iii) the weather conditions are identical, larger bubbles are harder to make and do not usually persist as long as smaller bubbles. At the present time, no commercially available product, hoop, or bubble solution, is known to me to be available specifically to make the very large (and often xe2x80x9cgiganticxe2x80x9d) bubbles within the usual summer outdoor xe2x80x9cbubble-making time of the yearxe2x80x9d conditions.
Most conventional, commercially available hoops are of a rigid nature and circular in design. Since the size of the hoop generally fixes the upper size limit of the bubble, large diameter hoops (say from about 1 foot in diameter up to 3 feet in diameter) are required to make the large to very large diameter bubbles (say from about 3 foot diameter to about 8 feet in diameter). In order to utilize such prior art hoops, a sizable container, sized at least slightly larger than the diameter of the hoop, is a necessity, simply to be able to dip the hoop into the bubble solution. Such large containers are also undesirable from the standpoint of providing sufficient bubble solution. For example, in order to fill a 3 foot diameter container (positioned perfectly level) to a depth of only 1 inch requires almost four and a half gallons (actually, 4.41 gallons) of liquid. Although the needs of smaller circular hoops are proportionally reduced, a circular container for only a 12-inch diameter hoop still requires about xc2xd gallon of bubble-making solution. Thus, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a bubble-making apparatus that avoids the necessity for large diameter containers to be utilized.
Another aspect of making large bubbles which must be appreciated is that large bubbles cannot be blown from a large hoop using one""s own breath, for human lungs are simply not large enough. A large bubble-making hoop must be moved through the air, or the wind must be allowed to blow through it. Large hoops also present other challenges. Importantly, the movement through the air of large sized hoops, and even moderate sized hoops, must fundamentally be gentle, or the bubble solution film situated within the hoop will burst, preventing the formation of a bubble. Also, the bubble-making motion cannot be just a continuous motion, but must include the act of xe2x80x9cclosing-offxe2x80x9d the bubble, which is often accomplished only with an intricate twist of the hoop, and/or a quick change of direction. In the event such a xe2x80x9cclose-offxe2x80x9d is not accomplished, one normally ends up just making a long bubble tube of approximately the diameter of the hoop, which usually soon bursts. However, a xe2x80x9cclose-offxe2x80x9d for making the bubble is not generally an easy maneuver to master when using large, rigid, and particularly circular type hoops. This is in marked contrast to small sized hoops that easily make small bubbles, because the properties of the bubble solution film intrinsically xe2x80x9cclose-offxe2x80x9d the bubble before a long bubble tube can develop. Consequently, using prior art devices, it is generally quite difficult, if not virtually impossible, to form long bubble tubes when using small diameter hoops.
Importantly, a good technique to form moderate to large bubbles involves forming and closing the bubble with a generally upwards motion that literally xe2x80x9cthrowsxe2x80x9d such bubbles upwards, often allowing it to catch the wind, and so it can persist longer before it comes in contact with the ground. It is easy to visualize that large bubbles formed without using such technique will usually sink quickly to the ground, because it is relatively heavy compared to the air in which it has been formed. On the other hand, small bubbles are essentially of negligible mass, and cannot be xe2x80x9cthrownxe2x80x9d, and thus are at the mercy of air currents from their inception.
With conventional bubble-making devices known to me, drawing a large-rigid-circular hoop out of a container of bubble solution with the bubble-forming solution film intact requires a very exacting, slow twisting motion. Otherwise, the bubble-forming film breaks. Generally, with such prior art devices, the greater the depth of the bubble solution in a container, the more successful a user will be in maintaining the bubble-forming solution film when drawing a rigid hoop from a bubble solution. Also, it is easier to draw a rigid hoop out of a container of bubble solution in a substantially edgewise fashion, that is, along the plane formed by the hoop orientation. So, smaller rigid hoops are easier to withdraw from a particular depth of bubble solution while keeping the bubble solution film intact.
Since larger diameter bubbles have greater surface areas, such bubbles require bubble solutions that provide greater bubble film thickness, and/or slower rates of evaporation of the bubble film solution, in order for such bubbles to persist with relatively long-life. Gravity also acts on the thin liquid film that forms a bubble, and tends to draw the bubble solution within the thin film towards the bottom of the bubble, thus thinning the bubble film near the top of the bubble, and increasing the bubble film thickness near the bottom of the bubble. The greater film thickness at the bottom is at the expense of the film thickness at the top, as the constant air pressure within the bubble essentially maintains the same internal volume. The uneven thickness of the bubble film naturally upsets the surface tension equilibrium about the bubble, thus reducing the resiliency of the bubble film when subjected to even slight stresses.
The top of the bubble is also the location where the greatest evaporation usually takes place, particularly in sunlight. Resultantly, even relatively low stresses will cause the bubble to burst. It is therefore difficult, and sometimes impossible, to make large bubbles during hot, dry days if the wind is gusting, and/or blowing faster than a gentle breeze. Further, it has historically been difficult to develop large bubbles that persist for as long of a time as small bubbles during good summer outdoor conditions, even with custom made xe2x80x9csuperxe2x80x9d bubble-making solutions.
Many commercially available bubble-making solutions reach a good compromise between the cost, bubble size limitations, and persistence of the bubbles, but noticeable differences exists between different brands. The principal ingredients that provide the most desirable characteristics are also the most expensive ingredients in the bubble solution. So, the xe2x80x9cbestxe2x80x9d bubble solutions contain greater proportions of glycerin, but are also the most costly to manufacture. Therefore, the manufacturing and/or procurement cost for the bubble-making solution becomes a very important consideration when thinking about making great big bubbles.
Another important factor that complicates bubble-making is the contamination of the bubble-making solution during use. Contaminated bubble solutions do not produce big, and/or long lasting bubbles. Unfortunately, when used outdoors, the large diameter open containers necessary for using large diameter hoops invite all sorts of foreign material to enter such containers and pollute the bubble solution. Even the surface foam produced by agitation of the bubble-making solution can adversely affect the qualities of the bubble. Large circular containers also make it difficult to salvage the unused bubble solution, that is, they make it difficult to pour even uncontaminated bubble-making liquids into a storage container after the bubble-making session is over. In summary, the necessity to use large diameter containers for bubble-making presents many inherent disadvantages, and can have a negative effect on the enjoyment of xe2x80x9cblowing big bubblesxe2x80x9d.
Many inventors have recognized the shortcomings of moderate to large-rigid-circular hoops, and thus have attempted to develop workable devices to overcome some or all of the above-described limitations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,087 issued to G. A. Messina in 1993 concerns a bubble solution pumping-dispensing-collection system, and a mechanism to support, expand, and collapse a flexible/elastic-band loop. In that design, the collapse of the loop must be complete, that is, the flexible bands must come within very close proximity to each other. Otherwise, the bubble solution will not create the necessary bubble solution film between the bands, from which the bubble forms. Also, with that device, it appears the user cannot xe2x80x98throwxe2x80x99 the bubble upwards. Such a device would also be awkward to swing through the air in any orientation; indeed, the patent states that air movement forms the bubble. So it appears that much of the success of bubble-making depends on the properties of the wind, which is unfortunately not under the direct control of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,892 issued to G. A. Messina in 1991 concerns a bubble solution pumping-dispensing-collection system. This invention appears to suffer many of the same shortcomings as the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,087.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,512 issued to D. V. Stein in 1988 primarily concerns a somewhat triangular, 3-sided loop, which according to the inventor, requires the use of both hands to manipulate correctly. The primary apparatus utilizes a weight attached to the bottom of a flexible line to create the loop form. The orientation of the loop is not truly independent of the speed, and/or direction of the swing, but is dictated by inertial, centrifugal, and momentum factors, and so requires the user to make the proper-coordinated-motion adjustments of both arms in different wind conditions to successfully form, and xe2x80x9cclose offxe2x80x9d large bubbles, and/or xe2x80x9cthrowxe2x80x9d the bubble upwards. Also, the size of the loop of the primary apparatus does not appear to be readily adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,255 issued to K. K. Klundt in 1987 utilizes a loop attached at the extremity of 2 separate wands. This device also employs a weight attached to a flexible loop, thus suffers the same fundamental shortcomings of the apparatus described in Stein""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,512.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,787 issued to D. V. Rector in 1986 concerns a loop comprised of 2 semi-rigid bow members. This device requires the use of both hands to expand the loop, or to collapse the loop. Also, the peripheral size of the loop is not adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,017 issued to D. V. Stein in 1985 shows a single sliding attachment point for a loop on a single rod. A weight positioned at the bottom of a line is used to completely form the loop. So, this apparatus presents the same difficulties as found in the previous Stein patent and in the Klundt patent.
While some of the noted prior art devices permit the use of a bubble solution container smaller than would be necessary if a rigid circular hoop of the same effective diameter were utilized, such prior art devices do not permit the user to actually control the plane of the bubble-making loop during the whole of the process of bubble formation. Moreover, such devices do not allow the user to independently determine both the speed and direction of a bubble-making loop, at various stages during the process of forming, xe2x80x9cclosing offxe2x80x9d, and throwing the bubble upwards. Finally, such prior art devices would be difficult, if not impossible, to use with only one hand.
One important object of my invention is to enable younger, and/or smaller children to readily make bubbles of at least moderate diameter, say in the 6-inch to 12-inch range.
It is an important advantage of my invention that such devices can be utilized with either (a) a small loop size, or (b) with a large loop size, and that the loop size is readily adjustable.
It is a feature that adjustable, interchangeable loop sizes permits use of my bubble-making devices by small children, yet allows a more capable user, that is, older children, and/or their parents or others, to quickly make many larger diameter bubbles.
It is yet another important advantage that certain embodiments of my novel bubble-making apparatus can be easily manipulated and fully utilized when using only one hand.
It is a feature of the invention that a large number of bubbles can be readily and quickly made, thus allowing users to each generate a great number of moderate size to large size bubbles (or fewer gigantic bubbles), and therefore can have a plurality of bubbles in the air all at the same time.
An important and related objective of my invention is to enable bubble-making to be transformed from xe2x80x9cboring kid""s playxe2x80x9d into the realm of real, serious, xe2x80x9cbig person""s funxe2x80x9d.
Another important object of some embodiments of the invention is to provide a manually compressible (squeezeable) wand that allows a supple, compliant, bubble-forming loop portion to collapse, so that the loop portion can be dipped into a narrow bubble-making solution container.
It is an advantage that many embodiments of my bubble-making device can be utilized with a bubble solution container of the size of only about 4 inches in width and a preselected length corresponding to a maximum dimension of a bubble-making loop portion of a specific device.
It is an important feature of my invention that the minimum quantity of bubble solution required for a narrow container may be as small as about 1 pint, or about one-fourth of the quantity of bubble-making solution required for a prior art 12-inch diameter rigid circular hoop to generate bubbles of comparable size.
Yet another feature of my bubble-making devices are that they provide an easy method of xe2x80x9cclosing offxe2x80x9d a bubble tube being formed to finally provide a large bubble; this is achieved by simply squeezing the opposing limbs of the bubble-making device together (preferably still using only one hand).
It is a related and important feature of some embodiments of the invention that the ability to close off a bubble with a single hand enables the user to quickly make and throw large bubbles upwards.
A still further and important feature that my apparatus provides is the ability to purposefully impart xe2x80x9cspinxe2x80x9d to the bubbles being formed, thus reducing the tendency of such bubbles to thin-out at any specific region due to gravity acting on the bubble. This is an important advantage, since the spinning action of a bubble can minimize the thinning of bubble walls and greatly prolong the lifetime of a bubble, compared to a bubble of similar size that has little or no rotational motion. This minimizes the detrimental effect of gravity on a bubble.
Yet another important feature of my bubble-making devices are that they can be easily withdrawn from a bubble solution with bubble-making film intact when the limbs of the device are squeezed together, with the bubble-forming loop portion in a collapsed form. This is possible since the bubble film minimizes its surface area by connecting between the smallest area defined between the opposing portions of the collapsed loop, to provide a bubble film completely extending between the U-shaped members of the collapsed loop, or smaller separated sections of the loop portion as they occur. This feature is an important advantage for very young users, since with prior art devices, they usually find it difficult to retain a bubble-making solution film intact even when using moderate (about 6-inch) diameter rigid hoops. Thus, the present invention opens up large diameter bubble-making to younger children.
Still another important advantage of my bubble-making device is that it enables utilization of a narrow width bubble solution container, and thus significantly reduces the potential for contamination of the bubble solution, when compared to prior art devices. Also, narrow width bubble solution containers facilitate recovery of unused bubble solution back into a storage container when through for the day. This is important since the cost of xe2x80x9cgoodxe2x80x9d bubble solutions (whether xe2x80x9chome brewedxe2x80x9d, or commercial) usually required for large bubbles is usually significantly higher than the cost of bubble-making solution of sufficient quality for small bubbles. Thus, a reduced quantity of bubble-making solution for making big bubbles, and the ability to salvage the unused portion, is an important advantage in the making of great big bubbles. The device provided herein enables a user to easily maintain bubble solution purity, and to salvage unused bubble solution, and is an important component of enhancing the enjoyment, since it significantly reduces costs involved in making large diameter bubbles.
Still another object of my invention is to provide to the user of my device a means to make very large to gigantic bubbles (say six (6) or more feet in diameter), when using the appropriate embodiment of my invention, with a rather nominal quantity of the proper bubble solution, while avoiding the necessity to buy large quantities of such expensive xe2x80x9cbest of the bestxe2x80x9d bubble solution.